The Indiana Republican Party is a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Indiana, incorporated by Citizens United attorney James Bopp, Jr., and under the control of up to twenty-four (24) and as few as three (3) members of the board of directors of another nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Indiana - The Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc.
Under Indiana law, the two “major political parties” enjoy significant advantages. For example, an independent candidate who seeks to be listed on the ballot for an office is required to obtain signatures on a “candidate form,” issued by the office of the Indiana Secretary of State, and subject to a review process in which many signatures usually are disallowed. I.C. §§ 3-8-6-2, 3-8-6-6, 3-8-6-8. There are signature requirements for a person who seeks to have her or his name listed on the primary ballot of one of the two “major” political parties, but the requirements are less arduous.
The Republican Party is one of the “two major political parties” in Indiana, but it has to be a type of “entity” authorized to do business, and be held accountable for its actions, by the Indiana Secretary of State.
“The Indiana Republican Party” is neither an individual nor a partnership. A public business search on the Indiana Secretary of State’s website shows there are 167 entities in which the name includes the word “Republican.” Most are corporations that no longer exist because the entity was administratively dissolved (33), voluntarily dissolved (3), cancelled (2), administratively cancelled (1), or had its status revoked (104). Of the other entities still “active” 24 consist of GOP county, youth, or other organizations. There are newspapers. There are political action committees (PACs). Finally, come the two (2) entities that appear to be “the” party.
The Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc., is a domestic, nonprofit corporation with principal office address in a suite at 101 West Ohio Street in Indianapolis. The website for the Indiana Republican Party gives the same address and suite number.
A corporation is required to file articles of incorporation when it is chartered by the Indiana Secretary of State. The articles of incorporation for the Indiana Republican Party bear the title “Articles of Incorporation of Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc.” There is a separate entity under the title “Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc.” Under its history of assumed names is “The Indiana Republican Party.” The articles of incorporation for both The Indiana Republican Party and The Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc., are identical.
The Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc., was incorporated in 2005. The “incorporator” for both entities is listed as James Bopp, Jr. Mr. Bopp was lead counsel in the Citizens United case.
In Articles of Incorporation of the Committee, Third article, the “purposes and powers of the corporation shall be: Section One: To further the rights of Indiana Republicans to freely associate to achieve the goals of the Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc, a/k/a the Indiana Republican Party...” “The corporation shall have no members except the members of the Board of Directors.” Fourth article. “The business of the corporation shall be carried on through its Board of Directors. The election or appointment of new directors shall be governed by the Bylaws of the corporation.” Fifth article. There are no links to any “Bylaws” on the Secretary of State’s website or the GOP’s.
The Twelfth article provides that the Board may consist of as many as twenty-four, or as few as three (3) members. On October 21, 2005, there were twenty-three (23) members of the Board. The “State Committee is the supreme party authority in this state...” (State Rule 1-1.) Any amendments to the Rules must be passed by a majority of the Committee. (State Rule 1-3.) A quorum to transact business is met when a majority of the members of the Committee are present. (State Rule 1-5.)
Were this a privately-held corporation doing business in farm supplies or toe nail clippers, these provisions would offer little cause for alarm. However, this is a corporation that controls one of the two “major” political parties in Indiana. If the Committee is whittled down to three members, two (2) people can determine how things are run. There is no provision in the Articles of Incorporation or the Rule for a popular - i.e., action by voters who are not members of the Committee’s Board - vote to “check” the Committee.
Machiavelli would chuckle at the machinations of Mr Bopp.
I am qualified to be a candidate on the May ballot for the GOP nomination for the Fifth Congressional District. I have lived in the same house for nearly 25 years. At one time my home was in Rep Carson’s District, but when the GOP gerrymandered Indiana’s districts in 2010, I was in the Fifth.
“A ‘Bona Fide Candidate’ is a Qualified Primary Republican who has opened a campaign committee for a particular office, or has File a declaration of candidacy for an elected office or party office.” (Rule 1-12.) I filed my declaration this morning.
“A ‘Qualified Primary Republican’ is a voter who cast a Republican Party ballot at the most recent primary election in Indiana which the voter voted, and who is a Republican in Good-Standing.” (Rule 1-24.) I cast a Republican Party ballot in the municipal election primary this past May.
“The term ‘Republican in Good-Standing’ shall be defined as a Republican who supports Republican nominees and who does not actively or openly support another candidate against a Republican nominee.” (Rule 1-25.) There are no Republican “nominees” to date. I have not “actively or openly” supported any candidates in this election cycle.
At one time the two “major” political parties had conservative and liberal wings. Some who label themselves as “conservative” and decry any approach to “socialism” want to see programs for clean air and water, or that seek to provide housing to the poor, curtailed or even cut off as tending toward socialism. If one believes such programs are socialistic, one must agree the last “socialist” President of this country was Richard Nixon, who, despite many - many, many, many - flaws, was proud of these achievements. He was a lifelong Republican.
On domestic issues:
-I favor the Supreme Court decision, in which a Nixon-appointee wrote for the Court, Roe v. Wade. I can’t get pregnant, and I’m not about to tell a woman how to formulate a decision properly between her and her physician.
-Racism has bent this country since the first African indentured servants were converted to slaves and bought and sold as chattel. This country not only recognized, but protected slavery for about 240 years - a time longer than it has been since slavery was abolished (in the States of the Confederacy) by The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. We still feel the impact of that institution. We have to address issues of access to the ballot, education, employment, and reparations.
-Europeans did not simply screw the Africans they brought to these shores. Our ancestors did a number on the peoples indigenous to this continent, whom many still call “Indians.” Hint - this is not India. We have to address issues of access to the ballot, education, employment, and reparations for the descendants of peoples who were here before Europeans set foot on these shores.
-Shirley Chisolm once said she faced greater discrimination as a woman than she faced as an African-American. Protecting women’s reproductive rights and medical choices is only one part of a greater agenda we need to pursue.
-I do not own a gun. I never have owned a gun. People NOT owning firearms is a damned good first step toward reducing gun violence. We also need to ban assault rifles. Overall, we need to look at how Australia dealt with mass shootings in the mid-1990s.
-Health care costs can be reduced. One easy - seriously this is a no-brainer - is to control prices of medication. Another way is to adopt single-payer.
-We need to make sure our elections are secure. That means we have to have open-source voting and paper trails for voters.
-Neither the war on drugs nor the war on crime was a real war. Neither was successful. We should legalize drugs, tax their sale, and provide treatment - not incarceration - to people who use. This will puncture crime rates and free resources for treatment and education.
-“I like Ike” was President Eisenhower’s campaign slogan in the 1950s. That slogan worked.o did the tax rates under President Eisenhower. Unfortunately, the very wealthy later redistributed wealth so that more money was in fewer hands. I advocate a return to the 1950s tax rates when the United States enjoyed great economic prosperity.
-We should not subsidize professional sports. Unfortunately, in their race to the bottom, many local and State governments dish out as much as they can to lure or keep professional sports franchises. This is a matter that only can be addressed, effectively, through Federal legislation. Such subsidies should be banned. Billionaires should not receive handouts.
-I would seek to enact legislation to ban robo-calls. A machine does not have rights under the Constitution and I’m sick of receiving those calls.
-Our military budget is bloated - there’s an understatement. We bomb people and use drones to kill, and we have troops deployed, still, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our military has made us less, not more, secure. Our troops are doing seven, eight, nine tours and coming back with PTSD - if they survive. And why are they over there? Oil?
I have other issues upon which I shall write, and speak in the coming days.
The demographics of Indiana’s Fifth Congressional District have changed since district lines were re-drawn in 2010. There are a lot of people who favor socially progressive and fiscally conservative programs, and yet oppose candidates of the Democratic Party. I do not seek, and will not accept donations for my election effort. I ask that people listen to what I have to say.
Mr Bopp might not like what I have to say. That is a bummer. We have to take back control of our political system. The GOP has developed into a party controlled by a - VERY - few. That is counter to the concept of democracy and the concept of a republic.